Shaquille O’Neal took a trip down memory lane on his podcast with former teammate Udonis Haslem. The two former Miami Heat players discussed numerous things from their playing days, eventually landing on the Ben Simmons saga. And The Big Aristotle certainly did not hold back when talking about the Brooklyn Nets guard.
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O’Neal addressed the injuries Simmons keeps suffering from, specifically his back on The Big Podcast With Shaq. For the last couple of seasons, Simmons’ camp has released a video of Ben working out in the gym and supposedly returning to his ‘All-Star form’.
And as soon as the season starts, fans barely get to see the Australian in action. Simmons ends up giving fans barely a month of play-time on the floor before getting shut down for the rest of the season.
Turns out, it is a frustrating sight for not just fans but for the Lakers legend as well as he called out the former All-Star.
“Ben is sensitive. He came in with a lot of hype…When he got exposed, we saw it…Now the back thing, I let that go the first year, I’m not gonna let it go for three years in a row. This is 2024.” Shaq also went on to add, “You got shots, you got pills, you got treatment. I don’t wanna hear it.”
O’Neal has dealt with his fair share of injuries. However, he also took into consideration how far medical science has come ever since and Simmons cannot use that as an excuse year after year.
When looking at Simmons ‘ailments, his knee seems to have been giving him problems for the past few years. But according to FoxSports, Ben has been dealing with back problems as early as 2018. Since then, Simmons’ back ailment has acted up in 2020, 2022, 2023, and in the 2024 NBA season as well.
Simmons’ annual mixtape
With the 2024-25 NBA season a few weeks away from tip-off, it seems as if the Ben Simmons mixtape has already started making the rounds on the internet. Simmons was recently spotted working out with NBA Skills Coach, Chris Brickley.
The video shows the Australian point guard putting time in the lab and working on his shooting. Now, at first glance, Ben’s shooting form appears to be much better than the previous seasons. However, it is a fact that fans barely get to see any of the things he does in the videos when it comes down to performing those moves in real life.
A fan even went so far as to call out Simmons by telling Brickley he was a lost cause. To that, the NBA Skills coach responded with, “Thanks bro but Ben is healthy, moving very well, he is better now than his All Star seasons. I’ve never co-signed a player that didn’t prove it when their season started. Trust me on this one..”
Year after year, someone or the other has vouched for Simmons and this year it’s Brickley. But will this be the year that Ben finally silences all the doubters? We’ll find out once the season starts.
